Fans of Strictly Come Dancing were left fuming on Sunday as the results show aired. Last night, on Saturday, the celebrities and their professional dance partners took to the BBC dancefloor to show off their new moves, under the watchful eye of the judging panel and fans at home.

Shirley Ballas sparked outrage last night as she hit La Voix with a brutal score of just two points – claiming she “can’t judge” the routine at all. The iconic drag star and her professional partner Aljaž Škorjanec performed a dramatic Cha Cha Cha packed with theatrical flair and facial expressions, but their footwork failed to land with the panel. Overall, they scored a measly 14 points – landing them at the bottom of the leaderboard and putting them in dance-off danger. Speaking to presenter Claudia Winkleman after the performance, La Voix looked deflated and admitted: “That was terrible,” and was visibly emotional as fellow contestants rushed over for a supportive group hug.

However, fans at home massively disagreed and the decision from Shirley sparked fury online. Viewers accused the judge of being “mean”, “biased” and “toxic”.

And their support was evident on Sunday’s show when the public vote was taken into consideration – saving La Voix from the bottom two and propelling them into the competition for another week.

But not all viewers of the BBC hit show were in agreement, with some angrily branding it a “popularity contest” rather than a competition based on skill. Posting to X/Twitter, one person fumed: “No one can argue that Strictly is a popularity contest when La Voix has got through. If Chris or Balvinder got 14, they’d be in the Bottom 2, no question #Strictly”.

Another echoed: “Strictly is a dance competition which hopefully appreciates the best dance on the night. The fact that La Voix has been voted through to the next round makes a complete mockery of the show. It’s a popularity contest. #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing.”

Someone else complained: “#Strictly it’s not been a dancing competition for years now. If it was, Bill Bailey and Chris McCausland would have never won. All about popularity unfortunately. The public vote needs to be limited to 25% or even less. Ellie and La Voix shouldn’t be there right now.”

While one more added: “La Voix has robbed someone of a place in next weeks show. Strictly is FIXED #Strictly.”

Despite the show’s backlash, other fans thought that the viewers had used their votes wisely. One person hit back: “It’s not fixed, it’s the power of the public vote. If it was fixed, the judges would have given higher scores.”

Another said: “La Voix simply got enough votes to get out of the bottom two. That does not make it a fix.”